scholarly journals Molecular Logic of Spinocerebellar Tract Neuron Diversity and Connectivity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myungin Baek ◽  
Vilas Menon ◽  
Thomas M. Jessell ◽  
Adam W. Hantman ◽  
Jeremy S. Dasen
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Information ◽  
Molecular Profile ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
Feedback Communication ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Axial Muscles ◽  
Molecular Logic ◽  
Spinocerebellar Tract ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Peripheral Sensory

AbstractCoordinated motor behaviors depend on feedback communication between peripheral sensory systems and central circuits in the brain and spinal cord. Relay of muscle and tendon-derived sensory information to the CNS is facilitated by functionally and anatomically diverse groups of spinocerebellar tract neurons (SCTNs), but the molecular logic by which SCTN diversity and connectivity is achieved is poorly understood. We used single cell RNA sequencing and genetic manipulations to define the mechanisms governing the molecular profile and organization of SCTN subtypes. We found that SCTNs relaying proprioceptive sensory information from limb and axial muscles are generated through segmentally-restricted actions of specific Hox genes. Loss of Hox function disrupts SCTN subtype-specific transcriptional programs, leading to defects in the connections between proprioceptive sensory neurons, SCTNs, and the cerebellum. These results indicate that Hox-dependent genetic programs play essential roles in the assembly of the neural circuits required for proprioception.

scholarly journals Sexually dimorphic mechanosensory neurons regulate copulation duration and persistence in male Drosophila

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreyas Jois ◽  
Yick-Bun Chan ◽  
Maria Paz Fernandez ◽  
Narsimha Pujari ◽  
Lea Joline Janz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Male Genitalia ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Copulatory Behavior ◽  
Copulation Duration ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
Peripheral Neurons ◽  
Mechanosensory Neurons ◽  
Peripheral Sensory

Abstract Peripheral sensory neurons are the gateway to the environment across species. In Drosophila, olfactory and gustatory senses are required to initiate courtship, as well as for the escalation of courtship patterns that lead to copulation. To be successful, copulation must last long enough to ensure the transfer of sperm and seminal fluid that ultimately leads to fertilization. The fly genitalia contain sex-specific bristle hairs innervated by mechanosensory neurons. To date, the role of the sensory information collected by these peripheral neurons in male copulatory behavior is unknown. Here, we employed genetic manipulations that allow driving gene expression in the male genitalia as a tool to uncover the role of these genitalia specific neurons in copulation. We found that the sensory information received by the mechanosensory neurons (MSNs) at the male genitalia plays a key role in copulation duration. We confirmed that these MSNs are cholinergic and co-express both fru and dsx. Moreover, our results show that the function of these fru/dsx cholinergic MSNs is required for copulation persistence, which ensures copulation is undisrupted in the presence of environmental stress before sperm transfer is complete.

scholarly journals Molecular Logic of Spinocerebellar Tract Neuron Diversity and Connectivity

Cell Reports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 2620-2635.e4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myungin Baek ◽  
Vilas Menon ◽  
Thomas M. Jessell ◽  
Adam W. Hantman ◽  
Jeremy S. Dasen
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Logic ◽  
Spinocerebellar Tract ◽  
Neuron Diversity

scholarly journals The Structural Basis of an Innate Behavioural Pattern

1984 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEFFREY J. WINE
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Light Sensitivity ◽  
Constant Stimulus ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Spatial Patterning ◽  
Axial Muscles ◽  
Motor Neurones ◽  
A Cell

The abdominal nervous system of the crayfish contains six serially homologous ganglia, each containing approximately 650 neurones. No two ganglia are identical, and the ganglia interact extensively. Studies confined to intraganglionic interactions thus yield limited and sometimes misleading information. Each ganglion contains intrinsic (local) interneurones, motor neurones and projecting interneurones in roughly equal numbers, except in the specialized terminal ganglion where the ratio of these cells is approximately 3:2:1. Although the number of nerve cell bodies in a ganglion is small enough to be tractable, integration occurs in the neuropile, which contains terminals from interneurones and afferents that outnumber the neurones originating in the ganglion by at least ten to one. The abdominal nervous system responds almost exclusively to a variety of mechanosensory stimuli. It has very limited light sensitivity. Other modalities, notably chemosensitivity, are undescribed and may be lacking. The effectors of the abdomen consist of fast axial muscles (used for tailflip-powered escape), slow axial muscles (for setting abdominal posture), appendage muscles (for swimmeret beating), and slow muscles of the intestine and rectum (that control gut emptying). The fast and slow muscles of the tailfan are specialized homologues of the axial and appendage muscles. The abdominal nervous system represents only 3–4% of the 100 000 neurones within the crayfish central nervous system (CNS). Most sensory information gathered in the abdomen is transmitted to the rostral CNS for processing, and many abdominal motor programmes are activated by descending commands. Nevertheless, a surprising degree of autonomy is present, and at least some motor programmes of every motor system can be activated in isolated abdomens. Tailflip escape behaviour illustrates the integrative properties of the crayfish nervous system. Ninety pairs of efferents and eighteen pairs of interneurones have been identified within the abdominal portion of the escape circuit. A cell-by-cell analysis has so far provided neurophysiological explanations, in varying states of completeness, for ethological concepts such as innate releasing mechanisms, spatial patterning of movement, serial order in behaviour, and alterations in responsiveness to a constant stimulus.

scholarly journals A lineage-related reciprocal inhibition circuitry for sensory-motor action selection

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Kottler ◽  
Vincenzo G. Fiore ◽  
Zoe N. Ludlow ◽  
Edgar Buhl ◽  
Gerald Vinatier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Inhibition ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Action Selection ◽  
Reciprocal Inhibition ◽  
Central Complex ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
Behavioural Activity ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Sensory Motor ◽  
Motor Actions

ABSTRACTThe insect central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia are forebrain centres involved in selection and maintenance of behavioural actions. However, little is known about the formation of the underlying circuits, or how they integrate sensory information for motor actions. Here, we show that paired embryonic neuroblasts generate central complex ring neurons that mediate sensory-motor transformation and action selection in Drosophila. Lineage analysis resolves four ring neuron subtypes, R1-R4, that form GABAergic inhibition circuitry among inhibitory sister cells. Genetic manipulations, together with functional imaging, demonstrate subtype-specific R neurons mediate the selection and maintenance of behavioural activity. A computational model substantiates genetic and behavioural observations suggesting that R neuron circuitry functions as salience detector using competitive inhibition to amplify, maintain or switch between activity states. The resultant gating mechanism translates facilitation, inhibition and disinhibition of behavioural activity as R neuron functions into selection of motor actions and their organisation into action sequences.

scholarly journals Transcriptional reprogramming of distinct peripheral sensory neuron subtypes after axonal injury

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Renthal ◽  
Ivan Tochitsky ◽  
Lite Yang ◽  
Yung-Chih Cheng ◽  
Emmy Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Axonal Regeneration ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Cell Identity ◽  
Transcriptional Reprogramming ◽  
Somatosensory Neurons ◽  
Peripheral Sensory

SummaryPrimary somatosensory neurons are specialized to transmit specific types of sensory information through differences in cell size, myelination, and the expression of distinct receptors and ion channels, which together define their transcriptional and functional identity. By transcriptionally profiling sensory ganglia at single-cell resolution, we find that different somatosensory neuronal subtypes undergo a remarkably consistent and dramatic transcriptional response to peripheral nerve injury that both promotes axonal regeneration and suppresses cell identity. Successful axonal regeneration leads to a restoration of neuronal cell identity and the deactivation of the growth program. This injury-induced transcriptional reprogramming requires Atf3, a transcription factor which is induced rapidly after injury and is necessary for axonal regeneration and functional recovery. While Atf3 and other injury-induced transcription factors are known for their role in reprogramming cell fate, their function in mature neurons is likely to facilitate major adaptive changes in cell function in response to damaging environmental stimuli.

The Control of Orofacial Movements in Speech

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Smith
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Orofacial Movements ◽  
Control Signals ◽  
Production Research ◽  
Command Signals ◽  
Linguistic Units ◽  
Organizational Principles

Rapid, complex movements of orofacial structures are essential to produce the sounds of speech. A central problem in speech production research is to discover the neural sources that generate the control signals supplied to motoneurons during speaking. Speech movement production appears to share organizational principles with other motor behaviors; thus speech movements probably arise from an interaction of centrally generated command signals with sensory information. That speech movements are ultimately linked to the perception of language, however, has led many investigators to suggest that speech movement control involves unique features, features that may be linked to abstract linguistic units.

scholarly journals Predicting the activation states of the muscles governing upper esophageal sphincter relaxation and opening

2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (6) ◽  
pp. G359-G366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taher I. Omari ◽  
Corinne A. Jones ◽  
Michael J. Hammer ◽  
Charles Cock ◽  
Philip Dinning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Information ◽  
Upper Esophageal Sphincter ◽  
Intraluminal Pressure ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Pharyngeal Pressure ◽  
Intraluminal Impedance ◽  
Esophageal Sphincter ◽  
Ues Opening ◽  
Swallowing Muscles

The swallowing muscles that influence upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening are centrally controlled and modulated by sensory information. Activation and deactivation of neural inputs to these muscles, including the intrinsic cricopharyngeus (CP) and extrinsic submental (SM) muscles, results in their mechanical activation or deactivation, which changes the diameter of the lumen, alters the intraluminal pressure, and ultimately reduces or promotes flow of content. By measuring the changes in diameter, using intraluminal impedance, and the concurrent changes in intraluminal pressure, it is possible to determine when the muscles are passively or actively relaxing or contracting. From these “mechanical states” of the muscle, the neural inputs driving the specific motor behaviors of the UES can be inferred. In this study we compared predictions of UES mechanical states directly with the activity measured by electromyography (EMG). In eight subjects, pharyngeal pressure and impedance were recorded in parallel with CP- and SM-EMG activity. UES pressure and impedance swallow profiles correlated with the CP-EMG and SM-EMG recordings, respectively. Eight UES muscle states were determined by using the gradient of pressure and impedance with respect to time. Guided by the level and gradient change of EMG activity, mechanical states successfully predicted the activity of the CP muscle and SM muscle independently. Mechanical state predictions revealed patterns consistent with the known neural inputs activating the different muscles during swallowing. Derivation of “activation state” maps may allow better physiological and pathophysiological interpretations of UES function.

Rhythmic activity of feline dorsal and ventral spinocerebellar tract neurons during fictive motor actions

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Fedirchuk ◽  
Katinka Stecina ◽  
Kasper Kyhl Kristensen ◽  
Mengliang Zhang ◽  
Claire F. Meehan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Pattern Generator ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Rhythmic Activity ◽  
Pattern Generator ◽  
Afferent Feedback ◽  
Fictive Locomotion ◽  
Decerebrate Cat ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Spinocerebellar Tract ◽  
Motor Actions

Neurons of the dorsal spinocerebellar tracts (DSCT) have been described to be rhythmically active during walking on a treadmill in decerebrate cats, but this activity ceased following deafferentation of the hindlimb. This observation supported the hypothesis that DSCT neurons primarily relay the activity of hindlimb afferents during locomotion, but lack input from the spinal central pattern generator. The ventral spinocerebellar tract (VSCT) neurons, on the other hand, were found to be active during actual locomotion (on a treadmill) even after deafferentation, as well as during fictive locomotion (without phasic afferent feedback). In this study, we compared the activity of DSCT and VSCT neurons during fictive rhythmic motor behaviors. We used decerebrate cat preparations in which fictive motor tasks can be evoked while the animal is paralyzed and there is no rhythmic sensory input from hindlimb nerves. Spinocerebellar tract cells with cell bodies located in the lumbar segments were identified by electrophysiological techniques and examined by extra- and intracellular microelectrode recordings. During fictive locomotion, 57/81 DSCT and 30/30 VSCT neurons showed phasic, cycle-related activity. During fictive scratch, 19/29 DSCT neurons showed activity related to the scratch cycle. We provide evidence for the first time that locomotor and scratch drive potentials are present not only in VSCT, but also in the majority of DSCT neurons. These results demonstrate that both spinocerebellar tracts receive input from the central pattern generator circuitry, often sufficient to elicit firing in the absence of sensory input.

scholarly journals Serotonergic paraneurones in the female mouse urethral epithelium and their potential role in peripheral sensory information processing

2017 ◽  
Vol 222 (2) ◽  
pp. e12919 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Kullmann ◽  
H. H. Chang ◽  
C. Gauthier ◽  
B. M. McDonnell ◽  
J.-C. Yeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Female Mouse ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Sensory Information Processing ◽  
Peripheral Sensory
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